Ireland have named the uncapped Leinster centre Jamie Osborne at fullback for Saturday's clash against the Springboks at a sold-out Loftus Versfeld in Pretoria.
Osborne is joined in the back three by the experienced James Lowe and Calvin Nash but will certainly face a baptism of fire in the international game at Loftus on Saturday.
Ireland will be led by captain Peter O’Mahony with Josh van der Flier and Caelan Doris forming a familiar back-row trio for the opening Test against the world champions.
In front of that trio will be Leinster’s Joe McCarthy and Munster’s Tadhg Beirne while Leinster trio Andrew Porter, Dan Sheehan and Tadhg Furlong make up the front row.
Returning to the backline, there is an all-Munster partnership in the half-backs as Craig Casey replaces the injured Jamison Gibson-Park inside flyhalf Jack Crowley.
Bundee Aki and Robbie Henshaw start in the midfield, and there is a cover on the bench from the likes of Ciaran Frawley and Garry Ringrose in the flyhalf/centre positions.
Elsewhere on the Irish bench, head coach Andy Farrell has picked Ronan Kelleher, Cian Healy, Finlay Bealham, James Ryan, Ryan Baird and Conor Murray for the opener.
Rassie Erasmus named his team for this weekend’s game on Tuesday, selecting no less than 20 Rugby World Cup winners in his matchday 23, led by the returning Siya Kolisi.
Following Saturday’s showdown in Pretoria, the two teams will square off on Saturday, July 13 at Kings Park in Durban as the series comes to a mouth-watering finale.
Ireland: 15 Jamie Osborne, 14 Calvin Nash, 13 Robbie Henshaw, 12 Bundee Aki, 11 James Lowe, 10 Jack Crowley, 9 Craig Casey, 8 Caelan Doris, 7 Josh van der Flier, 6 Peter O’Mahony, 5 Tadhg Beirne, 4 Joe McCarthy, 3 Tadhg Furlong, 2 Dan Sheehan, 1 Andrew Porter.
Replacements: 16 Rónan Kelleher, 17 Cian Healy, 18 Finlay Bealham, 19 James Ryan, 20 Ryan Baird, 21 Conor Murray, 22 Ciaran Frawley, 23 Garry Ringrose.
"It's a privilege for us to be able to name somebody in the starting line-up for their debut, especially on an occasion like this, so congratulations to Jamie."
— Irish Rugby (@IrishRugby) July 4, 2024
Hear more from Head Coach Andy Farrell as he spoke to the media in Johannesburg earlier ⬇️#TeamOfUs
